Sunday - Up very early today (6am) to join my tour to 'Yosemite National Park'. It was a bit chilly this morning but we were soon going to warm up! We set off at 7.30am. We left 'San Francisco' and headed over the "Bay Bridge" onto the freeway. After a couple of hours we reached the "San Joaquin Valley" and the golden grasslands, hence the title "California: the Golden State". They went for miles, but also included many fruit orchards, as agriculture is the main $ producer (tomatos, fig and almonds are grown). After a break we went through the "Sierra Nevada Mountains" and very impressive they were - richly coloured rockfaces with golden grasses. This area is known as desert! We then reached the old goldrush town of 'Mariposa'. It was a small community, 1700 people, with an old fashioned saloon and housing. From there it was a further 1h30 to 'Yosemite National Park' entrance. We drove alongside the "Merced River" all the way - it was stunning. A strong river running over the boulders and throught he valley that had been carved by a glacier. Finally we entered the park through the "Arch Rock" entrance, a hole through sheer rockface! Our first stop was "Bridaveil Falls" which were very pretty trickling down the granite rockface. Next up was "Inspiration Point" where you got an absolutly amazing view of "Yosemite Valley". On the left, standing high up was "El Capitain", carved from granite formed during a volcanic eruption and then glacier flow. Then in the centre were sitting clouds, due to the height of the mountains. And to the far right was "Half Dome" - it lost the other side in a glacier flow. Our final destination was the "Yosemite Visitor Centre" where we got 3h in the park to do as we wanted. I had a look at all the exhibits on the area and also watched a film on 'Yosemite' at the theatre. Before heading to the "Yosemite Falls" I had a walk around the "Indian village" - the "Ahwaknee", the original settlers of the parkland. Then it was time to head out into the 38C heat and walk to the stunning "Yosemite Falls". What a beautiful walk, through cedar and pine trees that were backed by the impressive granite rockfaces. WOW, the falls themselves were amazing, tumbling over the rockfaces at 3 tiered levels. They stood at 2421Foot! I then walked back and joined the group. On the way out of the 'Yosemite' we stopped at the valley meadow for a final view of the park. We then travelled 5h back to 'San Francisco'. What a great day!